January 27, 2022
Uninsured motorists (UM) and underinsured motorists (UIM) claims in New Jersey already present a myriad of factual and legal issues that must be addressed in every claim. That ranges from whether a vehicle is uninsured or underinsured, the applicable UM/UIM …
January 11, 2022
Remember George Costanza’s trick in “Seinfeld,” the 1990s TV sitcom? When he couldn’t (or didn’t want to) pay his rent or other expense he would conveniently “forget” to sign the check, buying himself a little more time. In a South …
January 3, 2022
The holidays — parties, family, and the spirit of giving. Some personal injury plaintiff’s attorneys really get into the spirit, hoping to receive the gift of “open” policy limits and unlimited injury recoveries by making short-fused settlement demands, that are …
December 16, 2021
Darryl A. Vachon did not accuse Travelers of bad faith in handling his $25,000 uninsured motorist claim until after a jury found he had incurred $1,022,780 in damages. Because he didn’t, the insurer must now defend itself against a million-dollar …
August 9, 2021
An insurer that refused a $399,000 settlement offer may have to pay more than $1.7 million because of a settlement that was made separately between its policyholder and an aggrieved customer, under a unanimous decision by the Washington Supreme Court …
September 29, 2020
More than eight years after Bonnie Winslett tore up and threw away a summons that notified her she was being sued, the Georgia Supreme Court is being asked to resolve questions of law that will determine whether GEICO Indemnity Co. …
March 25, 2020
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals endorsed a clever way for an insurer to avoid a bad faith claim where there were potential misrepresentations in the policy application. In Evanston Insurance Company v. Aminokit Labs, Inc., the court affirmed a …
March 12, 2020
In November 2010, Kailee M. Higgins downed 15 shots of tequila during her Saturday night shift as a dancer at Centerfolds II in Worcester, Mass. She was only 20 at the time. Higgins texted a friend that she was “maadd …
November 18, 2019
When managers of the Villas at Winding Ridge in Indianapolis asked a contractor to assess the condition of the 33 roofs in the condominium complex, they learned that a hailstorm the year before had damaged soft metal parts, fascia and …
November 7, 2019
Every policyholder will likely face a scenario where its primary insurer refuses a settlement offer within limits. The primary insurer is potentially liable for that excess verdict if it acted in bad faith by refusing to settle within limits. Sometimes, …